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Tara Rhys
Tara Rhys, a.k.a. Terumi MacTavish, is a student attending Siren Academy, the second member of Team STRM, and one of the protagonists of The Coming Storm. Appearance Physical Appearance: Tara is a fairly lean girl of average height. Despite how skinny she looks, she has a well developed, olive-tone body with noticeable muscle definition in her arms, legs, and abdominal section. Her green eyes are usually focused in an uninterested or calculating expression, and her hair is a stark crimson red, which extends down to her neck. She has a small scar on her right eyebrow which cuts it into two uneven pieces. Volume 2 Onward: After the battle which ensued in Frostbite Pt. II, Tara's combat outfit was deemed "unusable," before she was given a new one by a friend. Her new outfit comes with deep purple armor plates for her shoulders, forearms, and the left half of her torso, accented with lavender embellishments and gray belts which clasp them in place. She wears a ribbed, pale plum tank top with matching forearm gloves. Her shirt only goes down to her waist, ending just before her belly button so her midriff shows. She wears a pair of light gray cargo pants which end just below her shins, and instead of a traditional belt, she wears a wide violet sash tied in a bow at the right hip, which is held in place by two thin silver cords, each with two round button embellishments. Tara's shoes are what would appear to be a normal pair of high-top violet/purple sneakers—but the toes, soles, and back tag line are made of malleable steel. Inside is a normal pair of white socks. Volume 1 Outfit: Her old outfit was made to suit her taste in fashion and combat—which was, let's face it, breathable and tomboyish. Tara had bandages wrapped around her upper torso and her right hand. Over her chest, she wore a light purple (maybe thistle-colored) vest with deep pockets, and a string around her neck with a fake red Dust crystal hanging from it (it's sentimental). Both of her arms had some sort of sleek, pale blue armor, with intricate swirl designs embedded into them. Her right hand had a finger cuff and bracelet connected by a loose chain, whereas her left forearm was fully covered by a brace, which covers a black sleeve that goes up to the middle of her bicep. Her legwear included a pair of somewhat baggy pants that reached down to her ankles (or close enough), however, the right leg is slightly wrinkled up, so it doesn't quite reach the ankle like the other. On her feet, she woroe a pair of socks the same color as her vest, and a pair of white tennis shoes, painted with deep teal accents and tied with pale blue shoelaces. Personality Tara is snide, joking, and something of a partial tsundere, annoyed or bothered by surrounding people and students, regardless of who they are. Tara is a fierce woman—stubborn, relentless in her decisions, and always makes sure to finish what she starts. Respect is something she thinks needs to be earned, and she will not bow to someone of a higher rank until they earn her respect—that is, unless it's a teacher or a widely respected huntsman. Then she'll put on a slight smile and act like the most diligent student in Siren Academy, no matter how bad it pains her. Honor is something she holds in high regards, and she dislikes those who use any sneaky or underhanded tactics. Above all, she is fiercely loyal to those she deems friends and family, and will do anything and everything in her power to defend them against harm, even risk her own life if need be. Background Before Tara was Tara, she was a girl named Terumi MacTavish who belonged to a wealthy family in Vale. She had a brother named Rory, and a mother and father, Nara and Taichi respectively. They appeared to be a picture-perfect family in the public eye; however, Terumi had no knowledge that her parents were mobsters, let alone criminals, and had gradually rubbed off on her and her brother over the years. When she was ten, her father convinced her fighting wasn't such a bad thing, regardless of who it was she would square up against. She took this to heart, and before anyone realized it the girl was spinning polearms and bo staffs left and right. Her parents were impressed, but Rory was becoming increasingly worried for her sake. Over the years, the innocence faded from her eyes, and she was slowly being molded into a killing machine, for the sake of people she didn't even know existed. Things got worse when she met a Faunus boy during her time at Signal Academy, a boy named Sestran. After a few chats he had become Terumi's first real friend—or so she thought—and helped her to see that fighting didn't solve everything that she wanted to be resolved. They developed a friendship, and eventually, she took him to meet her brother. It took her a little too long to realize he was a Faunus, the one kind of person Nara and Taichi held a serious dislike for, a trait that hadn't rubbed off on her. When Rory met him, he was okay with meeting him but grew weary about letting someone with animal traits into their house. Everything came to a head when he told Terumi that their parents were extremely prejudice, and they came downstairs at the worst possible time to see a wolf tail dangling from underneath Sestran's shirt. Arguments ensued followed by several slaps and punches. Before long, Sestran interrupted the fight, potentially saving Terumi and Rory's lives in the most violent way possible by taking out their parents. It was only then Sestran's White Fang tattoo was exposed on the side of his neck. The last thing either of the MacTavish siblings expected was for someone to get right under one of their skins and then rip apart their perception of reality. Sestran said to them, "Do not let any one man hold you back again; true strength cannot be restrained." He left, never to be encountered by them again, and Terumi and Rory were left astounded—but he had a point. They couldn't stay much longer; their parents owed some considerable favors and debt that would naturally fall to them if anyone figured out they were dead. As such, the siblings grabbed whatever they could, purchased two tickets out of Vale, and hightailed it off the continent. Years went by, and things were supposedly looking up. Terumi and Rory moved half-way across the world to a city south of Mistral and changed their names to less noticeable ones such as Tara Rhys and Ringo Alexander. The two chose separate last names to avoid further suspicion and protect themselves. They scrounged up enough money from various jobs to buy their own apartment, and for once they felt safe, shut away in their own little space. With the idea of attending Beacon Academy behind them, there weren't many options for training and honing their "unrestrained skills." Though one fateful day on a peaceful stroll through down, Tara came across a flyer on a wall and was immediately hooked. It read: "SIREN ACADEMY ENROLLMENT. NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS." She immediately took it and showed it to Ringo. An opportunity had presented itself, to train and put their fighting skills to use, as Sestran once said they should. After some time, Tara had finished flling out the applications, and presented herself for the physical trial of the application process to which she miraculously passed, despite all doubts she and he brother had before. Finally, she had a way to fend for herself and grow as her own person. Weapon ' Weapon Name:' Crepuscolo Ladro Primary Type: Melee Modeled After: A glaive, or a polarm with a blade at its head Capabilities: Well, Crepuscolo Ladro has several abilities. The first, evidently, is that it can transform, or shift from one state to another. In this case, it has two forms—Melee Mode, and Sniper Mode. Glaive Mode, as pictured here, has a visible hammer, trigger, and gun barrel, which allows Tara to shoot the ammunition of her choice out the end opposite from the actual Glaive blade, the four-pointed star. Though it is possible to fire in Melee Mode, it's rather difficult, seeing how the trigger is too far away from where her hands are normally positioned. In sniper mode, the blade itself has a handle that attaches to the inside of the polearm, and can separate to be used as a short-sword in addition to the gun part of it. Really, for the weapon to be used for the purpose of firing, Tara has to flip Crepuscolo Ladro upside-down its current position to use it as an actual gun, the open end of the barrel being the four-pointed star on the end, which is normally closed into a diamond shape in Melee Mode. The shoulder holster is also a compartment for ammo, which can hold up to a whopping forty-five bullets. The ammo chamber itself is on the side of the gun, and can be opened by yanking back the green right-angle switch on the top. It can fire fifteen bullets, one at a time, before it has to be reloaded with more. Instead of having an actual chain of bullets, Tara duct tapes them all together, which is good, because the blast from Crepuscolo Ladro disintegrates the tape upon firing. Abilities Tara is an aggressive fighter with a serious lack of fear. She's not afraid to charge into a battle without a plan, and she can stay cool even when her back is against the wall. Though mostly reckless, she means well when it comes to taking a hit for her teammates or dodging a bullet (literally). *Her fighting style is an Indian martial art called Huyen Langlon where the primary weapons are the thang (sword) and ta (spear). The thang-ta aspect of her fighting style shares a connection with certain war-dances, blurring the line between dance and combat forms such as thangkairol (sword dance) and khosarol (spear dance). The unarmed version uses hand strikes, kicks, and grappling. Semblance During the end of Volume 1 of The Coming Storm, Tara succumbed to extreme anger and subsequently unlocked her Semblance. She refers to it jokingly as "that not-exactly-tiny fire in my heart this world's dumbasses suppressed all those years," but has secretly named it Determination. Through the burning desire to do something—complete and utter determination—her Semblance creates a large, circular, coliseum-shaped wall of fire which encloses her and a single opponent of her choosing. The height and diameter are indefinite with each use, but it is tall enough where the opponent has to make an effort to get out. The "coliseum" does not cause Tara any harm, seeing how she's the one to conjure it, but it is very well possible for the foe to take damage if they directly interact with it—after all, it's fire. Likewise, those outside the dome may also be burnt on contact—because again, it's made of fire. Of course, there are loopholes to bringing it down or penetrating it. *As a side effect of Determination, Tara receives a heart on her chest which radiates like fire. As her determination dwindles, the heart will begin to shrink until it disappears. *The coliseum will remain up as long as Tara's determination doesn't dwindle. *If more than two people are somehow inside the coliseum, Tara can lose focus on her original opponent, and thus her determination will stagger. Relationships Saige Cristallo: Tara's teammate. Saige was the first other person aside from her brother that Tara could trust. The two were unsure of each other at first, upon meeting faces during entrance to Siren Academy, but learned to respect each other, because of the similarity between their morals, values...and taste in weapons. They make an excellent melee duo, if not firing experts. Raine Shiba: Possibly the most light-hearted and sweetest person Tara has ever met. When she crossed paths with Raine, Tara was skeptical at first of the results of teaming up with such a guy. However, as the team was locked in place, she has found that Raine is a bit of a pupil to her, someone to follow in her footsteps. She's taken it upon herself to take him under her tutilage and teach him just what it means to truly be a Hunter. Macy Anumati: Honestly, Tara feels something of a grudge towards this girl. She finds it illogical that Macy could be so bouncy and full of energy all the time, regardless of how much good it does for the team. Tara feels as though Macy doesn't fully understand the bitter truth of reality, and that maybe being put on a team will do just the trick to toughen her up. Ringo Alexander: Ringo is Tara's older brother, and possibly the most overprotective sibling any girl could have. He was constantly worried for his sister's safety, and went to great lengths to see that she was safe and sound. Despite how secluded their relationship was as kids, Tara has learned that she needs someone she can count on, and for that matter, someone she can keep from making stupid mistakes. Shark Zabka: They have a...complicated relationship. Tara is on relatively good terms with Shark, though she gets irritated by how often he can throw the things she says right back in her face. They share similar personality traits in their love for acting snarky or smug, and sometimes being able to show up others at the most opportune moments. Sestran: The most intriguing person in Tara's life. He is the man convicted of murdering Nara and Taichi MacTavish, and for that matter, setting Tara free from a restrained life. He was supposedly Tara's best friend, however, this was all proven to be a hoax once he took an axe to her parents' head. Ironically, she doesn't necessarily hate him—her parents were somewhat abusive. Since that event, Tara hasn't seen Sestran, assuming the man to be dead. Nara and Taichi MacTavish: Tara's parents, and the two people she hated most on the planet as a child. While growing up, they pressured her and Rory to be well-trained killing machines without so much as a single flaw. Whenever one of them messed up, punishment followed, along with painful memories. They did things as drastic as locking her and Rory in the basement of their own house. Concepts and Designs Tara New Combat Outfit.png|Tara's New Combat Outfit Tara Alternate.png|Tara's Alternate Outfit Tara Winter Formal.png|Tara's Winter Formal Outfit Tara Formal Wear.png|Tara's Formal Wear Tara Pajamas.png|Tara's PJs Tara Character Sheet.png|(OLD) Tara Character Sheet Trivia * The name Tara means "star" in Sanskrit, Hindi, and Persian. Stars in the night sky can be seen in a massive variety of colors, notably shades of blue, green, orange, white, and sometimes violet among others. In this case, Twilight is a time at which the Sun dips below a certain angle past the horizon and illuminates the brightest stars in the sky—hence the connection between Tara's name and color. **Tara shares her name with the Hindu goddess Tara who is the second of the "Great Wisdom goddesses," and is perceived as the "absolute, unquenchable hunger which propels all life." *Her last name Rhys is a derivative of the Old Welsh name Ris, which means "fiery warrior;" this serves as her Semblance's inspiration. **The name she left behind, Terumi, is a Japanese name which means "beautiful shine." *In terms of character representation, Tara represents Ares, the Greek god of war—specifically the untamed, violent aspect of war. **Pop culture inspirations include Undyne from Toby Fox's Undertale. *Her theme song is Whyyouwannabringmedown by Kelly Clarkson. * Category:Characters